A Different Path
by talltree28
Summary: Austin has always hidden a lot about himself, and his relationship with his parents is almost non existent. However, when his parents force him to go on a vacation with their old friends, he meets someone that might just force him to go on a different path.
1. Austin Moon

**Austin's Point of View:**

People always think that they have been able to understand me. They simply think that I am just the popular kid on the block. They think that I'm dumb and can't understand anything that my teachers have taught me at school. They think I'm a jock, and that all I care about is sports. They think that I'm a player, and that I will date every popular girl in the school before I graduate. They think they know me, but they don't. I've always been popular, and I will admit that. With my good looks and my skills as the star point guard for our State Champion basketball team, it was inevitable. Sometimes I like being popular, it makes sure that I am always in the loop and I always know what's happening. However, most of the time, it's really just a pain.

By being popular and taking on the role of school sports star, people automatically think that you're stupid, but it's not the case. Believe it or not, I'm actually a very bright kid, and I understand a lot of subjects ranging from calculus to chemistry; not many people know that. In fact, now that I think about it, the only people that know about my hidden talent of being smart are my best friend Dez, and my parents. Speaking of hidden talents, there is something that nobody, and I mean nobody knows. I'm actually very gifted at playing music. I can play almost every instrument that is known to man, and I can even play a trumpet through another trumpet. You might wonder why I haven't told anybody about my amazing talent, but to me it's pretty obvious that nobody I know I would care. All of the popular kids at school would just brush it off and not take it seriously. Maybe Dez would care about my talent, but still that would even be a stretch. Heck, not even my own parents would blink an eye about the abilities that I possess.

Speaking of my parents, I don't get along with them very well. Like I said before they are the only people besides Dez that know of my academic abilities. They always yell at me whenever I fail another test or project saying that I have so much potential that I don't live up to. Honestly though, I really don't care whether they like me or not. I mean I know it's sad that we have grown apart and haven't done much together over the past couple years or so, but it doesn't matter; in just one year I will be out living in the world by myself. After this summer, and the next school year I can move out and do as I please. Maybe then I can become the person I was meant to be.


	2. Ally Dawson

**Ally's POV:**

Hi, my name is Ally Dawson! I'm known around school as the nerd, the geek, and whatever other title is given to smart quiet people like me. I would like to tell people that they are wrong, that I'm not a nerd, except that's a lie. Over the past three years in high school I have accepted the fact that I am a nerd, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad thing. It means that I'm a very smart person with an extremely bright future ahead of me. It's not like anyone makes fun of me or annoys me. I might not have very many friends, but nobody teases me about it.

I have to admit it, compared to a lot of people that I know; I have a pretty average life. Right before I started high school I moved away from Miami up north to St Paul Minnesota. A lot of people right away ask me why my family moved from sunny and warm Miami to cold and frigid Minnesota. The answer is business. You see my dad owns a well-known music store named Sonic Boom. For almost all of my childhood we were located in the Mall of Miami. However, my dad got an offer to move up to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States. Obviously we couldn't turn down that offer, and we have had way more business than we ever did in Miami.

Most people my age would have been very against moving cities not to mention over moving 1,800 miles, but I didn't mind. In Miami, I didn't have much that I really had to leave behind. There was only one person that I truly miss and she that is my best friend Trish. Still, we Skype all of the time and every year a bunch of families, including hers and mine go to Gatlinburg during the summer. Besides that I really didn't mind moving.

Overall I have a really steady life at home. My mom finally got back from Africa this year, and has found a job here in town. With her finding a job in town I get to see her every day, which is really nice. Also, with my dad owning the store in the mall of America and with me working there, I get to see him a lot. Both my parents have always been very supportive of my abilities and talents.

Speaking of talents, I am a really talented musician. I've played the piano ever since I can remember, and I write songs that my family and Trish say are really good. No offensive to them, but I can't trust them on that because of course they are going to be bias! They have always told me that I should sing them in like a talent show or something but I can't. Ever since I failed at an audition to get into the school of my dreams, I can't play piano or sing in front of a crowd. That's okay though. One day I have a very strong feeling that I will be able to overcome my stage fright, I don't know how or when, but one day I know it will happen.


	3. A Forced Path

**Austin's POV**

"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled out in frustration.

"You're going and that's final!" My mom replied.

"But both of you know that I just stay over at Dez's house while you guys are down there," I pleaded with her.

"Isn't about time that we do something again as a family?" My dad chipped in. "I mean you only have one more year until you're gone for college".

"Since when have you and mom actually cared about spending time with me?" I questioned back.

Let me back track a little bit. You see every year my parents always go down to Gatlinburg right at the beginning of summer. When I was young, I would go with them and I used to have a really fun time. However, since my parents and I have grown apart, I haven't gone with them.

Instead of being trapped in a large cabin for two weeks with a bunch of grown-ups, I instead spend two weeks with my best friend Dez. His parents have never minded and consider me to be more of a son to them than my own parents are. For two weeks, I start off my summer with a bang doing all sorts of stupid teenage stuff with him.

Those two weeks are the time that I look forward to every year. During those two weeks I didn't have to deal with the stupidity of my parents. Apparently this summer though, my parents couldn't even let me have that.

"This is so stupid!" I continued on. "I'm going to be stuck in a room full of complete strangers that I don't even remember, I'm going to have nothing fun to do because you're version of fun is completely different than mine, and I'm going to have no one my age down there to hang out with."

"Well there is someone your age that is going to be down there," My dad answered back.

"Really?" I replied back with a dose of sarcasm. In all honesty though this did catch my attention. I couldn't remember anyone by age ever being down there besides Trish, but she always threatened me so I stayed well clear of her path.

"Yeah, don't the Dawson's have a girl the same age as Austin?" My mom added on to my dad's remark.

"Of course, don't you remember Ally? She wasn't there last year because she was on that Honors trip with the University of Stanford," My dad said.

"_Stanford" I thought to myself. "Sounds like a nerd already."_

"That's right Mike. How could I forget such a smart young lady like Ally? She is honestly one of the nicest teenagers that I have ever met," My mom said making the connection.

"Plus, she is so responsible. Never does anything that could get her into trouble," My dad said making it sound like he rather have her as a child than me.

"Great. Sounds just like the person I would LOVE to hang out with," I said making sure I emphasizing the word love. I mean I didn't mind the fact that she was smart, but I can't stand to hang around people that are so boring, and Ally fit the short description well.

With that I left the house though the front door not caring what my parents thought. At the moment I was so frustrated that it wasn't healthy, and during times like these there was only one person that I could go to.

**Ally's POV**

I am so happy right now! School just left out and of course I got all A's on all of my final exams. With the end of another year in the classroom comes summer! While I might be really smart, I don't think there is any kid out there that doesn't enjoy summer break. I mean sure I love to learn, but it is always nice to take a break and do want I want to do.

Also, with the end of summer break comes the two week trip to Gatlinburg, one of my favorite places ever. This year is going to be especially fun because I haven't been there in two years! Last year, Instead of going down there with my parents and Trish, I was accepted into the Future Leaders High School program at the University of Stanford. While the program was fun and I got to meet a lot of great people, nothing could replace the memories I have had with my best friend.

All this, and thinking about what we were going to do once we were on vacation swam around in my brain as I entered the house.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" I yelled into the confined air of the house.

"Downstairs sweetie," My father yelled to me.

I left my backpack on the kitchen table, and made the short journey to the basement.

"What's up Allygator?" My dad asked while embracing me for a hug.

"Oh nothing much, except that I'm a senior now!" I said with great pride

"I know and just one year away from college!" My mom squealed with great excitement.

Being a senior in high school was great and all, but at the moment I was much more excited about the trip.

"I can't wait until I see Trish in a couple of days! I think we're gonna go to Cades Cove and then maybe a hike up the mountain and-" I stopped mid-sentence to see that my parents were giving me saddened looks. "What? Is everything okay?"

"Trish's family isn't going to be able to make this year honey. Their business isn't doing too well and they can't afford to close it for two weeks on vacation. They said they were really sorry and that they were trying their best to be able to go, but they just made the decision today that they can't. I'm really sorry."

For a moment it took me a while to comprehend what my mom told me, but after I realized what she said, I became a little depressed. At first I was mad that Trish didn't tell me that she wasn't going to be able to make it, but then I remembered that my mom said that her family just made the decision today.

Trish probably didn't tell me because in all honesty she probably thought that she was going to be able to go. It must be more of a heart break to her to find out that she wouldn't be able to see me. That would make it now three years before we would see each other face to face again.

"It's okay, I understand what you guys are saying" I replied with a fake smile. In all honesty it killed me inside to know that I missed the chance to see my best friend again.

"I know it must be hard on you just to find out now," My dad told me

"But, on the bright side, there is going to be another person your age down there this year." My mom said with a hint of a smile.

My ears perked up at that, "Really? That's great! Who is it?"

"His name is Austin. He is Mike and Mimi's son, you remember the Moons right?"

"Of course I remember the Moons! They are such nice people!" I almost yelled across the basement. "Have you ever met him before?" I said asking about Austin.

"Nope, and all we really know about him is that he is a star point guard on his school's basketball team and that while is parents are down on vacation with us is that he stays at his best friend's house," My mom replied back to me.

"Sounds like a cool guy." I said to both my parents. I excused myself from the basement and went upstairs to start packing. Usually I don't hang out with any of the jocks, so this is going to be a new experience for me. All I hope is that he likes exploring caves and hiking up mountains.

Hopefully we are able to become friends, or at the very least get along with each other. If not, this is going to be the longest two weeks of summer that I have ever dealt with.


	4. A Guiding Path

**Author's Note:**** I hope that everyone so far is enjoying the story. While it won't make me quit writing or posting if nobody reviews, it would be nice to know if you like the story. If you have any good ideas or if you have any helpful criticism, please review. Like I said though, lack of reviews won't stop me from writing because if that's the reason you are writing stories, then you are writing for the wrong reasons. Enjoy! **

**Austin's POV**

I can't believe my parents, just can't believe them. Why in the Hell would they make me go on this stupid trip of theirs? My dad said that he wanted to spend time as a family, but did he really think that I would fall for that crap? My dad hasn't done anything worthwhile with me for years. I mean I know I haven't been the greatest son in the world, but when I needed help, he wasn't there for me.

So why is he making me go? In all honesty, I have no clue. It seems really random to me. Maybe my mom told him that I needed to go. While I wasn't close at all with my mom, I was a hundred times closer with her than I was my dad. She attempted to help me at least, but I usually brush her off, or even go off on her. I'm sorry for doing that to her, but if you lived with my dad, you would understand why I was mad all the time.

I probably shouldn't have walked out on my parents like that, but I couldn't help it. They were making it sound like they rather have this Ally chick as a daughter than have me as a son. If I were to have stayed at the house I would have just gotten in a shouting match with my dad. That's why I had to leave. That's why I had to go to Dez's house.

Usually I would just go drive up to Dez's house, but of course my dad had to take my car keys away from me, so instead I had to make the 20 minute walk to his house. In may only be early June, it had to feel at least 90 degrees out making the walk even worse. By the time I reached his house, my white V-neck T-shirt was drenched in sweat.

I walked to his doorstep, rang the doorbell and patiently waited for the door to open. I heard someone walking to door, and slowly watched it open.

"Hey is Dez home? I really need to talk to him," I politely asked his mom

"Of course he is Austin! Come on in! You must feel like an egg in a frying pan out there it's so hot," Dez's mom said concerned with my well-being. Only if my parents treated me like this. "He's in his room, just go ahead on in".

I walked into his room to find him watching the newest Zaliens movie.

"Hey what's up man? I didn't think your parents left until tomorrow for the trip." Dez said greeting me.

"Yeah they leave tomorrow, and apparently so do I".

"What? Are they making you go with them this year?"

It's like he read my mind. "Yeah, my dad said that he wanted to spend time together as a "family" and I can't tell you how pissed off I am at them. I was mad that I just walked out of the house and came straight down here," I said answering his questions.

"That probably wasn't the best thing to do in that situation," Dez said trying to talk some sense into me.

"Yeah but if I stayed there, someone was going to have to listen to me go off on them," I said implying that the someone was my dad.

"I get what you were saying, but I still feel that you should have told them where you were going or that you were at least leaving."

Dez was making very good points, but I honestly didn't want to admit that he was right.

" I know, but I needed to come down here so you could help calm me down, and talk some sense it to me, which is exactly what you are doing."

"So what are you going to do," Dez questioned me.

"I mean I really don't think that I get much of a choice here Dez. My parents are basically forcing me to go on this vacation with them".

"That doesn't mean that you can't enjoy it". Dez said sounding optimistic

"Don't you get it Dez, I'm forced to go on a vacation with my parents that don't even care about me, and the only person that I might be able to hang out with is a nerdy girl named Ally from Minnesota".

"No I don't think you are getting what I am saying. If they are forcing you to go with them, you can at least enjoy it. Tell them what you want to do down there. I mean don't make any unreasonable requests, but you should tell them that if they want you to go on this vacation with them without resentment towards them, that you are at least going to get to do some things down there that you consider fun".

It took me a minute to realize exactly what he was saying, but I think I figured it out. "So what you are saying is that I should give them a list of reasonable requests and tell them that if they want me to go on this vacation with them that they need to honor the requests?"

"Exactly," Dez said.

"There is only one problem with that, they are forcing me to go with them. Why would they honor any request or demand that I gave them, realistic or unrealistic?"

"You said your dad wanted to spend time as a family right?" Dez said trying to guide me on some sort of path.

"Right," I said trying to following him.

"Well if he truly wanted to spend time as a family, it would only be fair that he did some stuff that you wanted to do," Dez said the path now becoming clearer.

"I got what you're saying!" I said with pride. "If he really wanted to spend quality time as a family he would do the things I wanted to do".

"Yes, and if he doesn't want to listen to those requests-"

"Then he really doesn't want to spend time with me and he has no real reason to force me to go on vacation with him and my mom!" Finally I got the full extent of what Dez was trying to tell me.

"You got it!" He said sounding relieved that I fully understood him.

"Thanks Dez! You're the best man!" I told him as we both left his room.

Before I left his house we did our Whaddup handshake, and I was quickly out the front door headed back to my house. I had twenty minutes to come up with some reasonable requests for my parents, knowing that these requests could make or break my vacation. I better not screw this up.

**Ally's POV**

I finally got done packing! I always forget how much stuff you have to pack when you are going away for two weeks.

I'm still kind of bummed out that Trish isn't going to be able to go on vacation with the group this year, but it's okay. I've learned that you have to look at the positive side of things. If you don't then you are more likely to get depressed about a situation that isn't that bad in the first place.

Anyways, while I was packing I got of text from Trish asking me if I wanted to Skype tonight. Of course I said yes and started to pack as quickly as I could. I might have forgotten a couple of things, but I want as much time as I can to talk to my best friend. I grabbed my laptop, and before I knew it I was connected with Trish.

"Trish! I'm so glad to see you!" I yelled at her through the screen.

"Me too! Listen before we start talking about anything else, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry that I won't be with you on vacation this summer," Trish said with true regret in her voice.

"It's okay. It's more important that you help your family out with their restaurant and make sure that it stays running," I said trying to be sympathetic.

"I guess, but I'm still going to miss you. I haven't seen you in person in over 2 years!" Trish said. "Plus there is going to be nobody your age group down there that is in your age group. The only person that I can think of is Noah and he's like only 11 years old".

"Actually it sounds like that is not going to be case this year. It sounds like the Moon's son, Austin, is going to be down there this year. Hopefully he's into Cades Cove; I really want to go there again this year".

"You said Austin Moon is going to be down there?" Trish asked, the tone of voice drastically changing.

"Yeah, so it looks like I will have someone my age with me," I said

"Ally, if I were you, I would stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble. You would likely have a better time if you just hung out with Noah," Trish warned me.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Surely this Austin guy couldn't be as bad as Trish made him out to be. After all she made everyone sound worse than they actually were.

"Ally, he goes to my school, and is by far the most popular person there. He treats the teachers with disrespect and goes through girls quicker than a sick person goes through tissues."

"Trish, he can't be that bad, I mean I bet a lot of people don't really know who the true him is since he is so popular." I said defending someone I had never even met before.

"I don't think you get it Ally. I used to be friends with him, until he became a complete jerk in high school. He used to be a really nice guy, but then something happened to him. I don't what happened, but it wasn't something small," Trish said.

I wonder what was so bad that made him to change into a complete jerk according to Trish. Honestly, it makes me want to figure out with happened to him. You know what challenge accepted! If I'm not going to be able to spend any time with Trish while I'm in Gatlinburg, maybe I can help somebody out, even if I have yet to meet them.

"Maybe I can figure out what has gone on in his life, what's made him change." I told Trish with a determined voice."

"I mean if you want to, go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you when he makes you feel like trash. I'm telling you Ally he's nothing but bad news."

"I'm sure he can't be that bad, but anyways, what's going on?"

Trish and I talked about lots of things, including the new songs that I have been writing, and before we knew it, we had skyped for over three hours. We both said our goodnights, and we hung up.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get over what Trish had said about Austin. I mean surely he couldn't be as bad as she described him; it would take talent to be that much of a delinquent.

With that on my mind, I fell asleep, still looking forward to my vacation with my family. No one, not even Austin, if he wanted to, could ruin what I look forward to every year.


	5. A Stormy Path

**Author's Note: I was just wondering if anyone can point out the relationship that the storm has with this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Austin's POV**

_I can't screw this up. _That's what I keep thinking as I make my way back to the house. In my mind it still seems farfetched that I'm going to be able to convince my parents to let me have some freedom during the vacation. However, if my parents don't want to spend any time with me, then there is no reason that I need to go on vacation with them.

Instead of actually thinking of good requests to ask my parents, I keep thinking to myself that I can't mess this up. How can I not mess this up if I don't think of any ideas? During the rest of the walk home, I keep trying to think of good ideas of what to ask for, but a bunch of blanks come to my head. Before I realize I'm back home and walking through the front door.

"Where did you go?" My dad said not sounding friendly.

"We were worried about you," My mom added in a much softer tone.

_Worried about me? That's a good one. I thought while my mind laughed at my thoughts._

"I just went down to Dez's house. No big deal." I said while grabbing a bottle of water. That was the wrong thing to say.

"No big deal! You think just leaving without telling us where you are going is no big deal?" My dad asked beginning to yell. Unfortunately, my sarcasm was beginning to take over without me knowing.

"Yeah and it was such a big deal the other hundred times I've done it before," I replied while taking a drink of water.

"Don't you get smart with me, young man!" My dad said practically yelling at me.

"Yeah wouldn't want me to get smart now, or I might actually get to choose where I want to go to college instead of you choosing for me," Crap, not the right thing to say. Where is Dez when you need him?

"That's it! Just go up to your room! I don't have time to deal with you antics," My dad yelling loud enough so Canada could here.

"Wow, don't want to deal with me when times get tough, I've never seen that happen before," Damn me and my sarcasm.

"Go! Now!" Dad said while the house began to shake. I couldn't tell if it was because of the yelling or because of the fact that the wind was really beginning to pick up outside. During the silence in the house, you could hear the wind chimes outside playing a violent song.

I started climbing the steps that lead up to my room upstairs, but then I stopped. I had one last remark I wanted to tell my dad. "You know what? I was actually looking forward to going down there. Dez told me that I was going to have a blast, but you can forget about that now," I said knowing that the statement had some truth and some lies. I expected my dad to say something as I stood still on the middle step, but instead he just looked at me.

"I actually wanted to spend some time with you guys, but I can tell now that you don't want to, so fine by me," I continued. Just don't expect me to go on this trip with you guys if that's the case". With that I started to climb up the second half of the steps not expecting to go to Gatlinburg any longer.

"Austin," My dad said as I was on the last step. I stop, turn around and stare at him not showing any emotions. "I'm sorry that I was so harsh on you, but you know the rule that if you leave the house you need to tell us where you are going."

"Anything else?" I asked trying to see if he was going anywhere useful with this.

"I think I'm speaking for both your mom and myself when I say that I do want you to go down on this trip with us. I should have never forced you to go with us, but Hell, I never get to see my son anymore and I thought that was the only way I would get to see you this summer." He said while the rain began to hit against the roof and the wind picked up even more speed.

_Want to see me? That's a joke, you don't want to see me, and you're ashamed to even call me your son._

"I thought since I'm such a horrible child that you didn't want to see me since I disgraced the family name and the family business so much," I said trying to get to the bottom of this.

"Austin," My mom said entering the conversation, "While you have done some stuff that we are not proud of you for doing, you have also done a lot of stuff that we are very proud of you for doing."

My dad shook his head at this while thunder rolled in the distance. I couldn't believe what they are saying, that they were proud of me. Part of me wanted to believe them, but deep down I still couldn't accept what they were saying. For so long they just avoided me when I needed help. What all of a sudden made them want to spend time with me? There was so much that I wanted to ask them, but I knew that this of all times was definitely not the time to ask.

Some would say that this incident did very little to help the current situation, but I on the other hand realized that I could take advantage of what had just happened.

"Fine you want to spend some time with me?" I asked giving them a little of time to mentally respond, "I'll go with you, but I have some requests that I would like you guys to honor." All of a sudden the storm became much fiercer and my dad gave me a serious look. To me it looked like he was mad that his vacation might not go as exactly planned.

"Okay, go on," My dad said. I honestly didn't know what I was going to ask them, but something was better than nothing.

"First," I told them not knowing exactly what I was going to ask of them, "I want to do some things down there that I consider to be fun".

"Like what?" My dad gave me a stern look as the storm intensified. Was there a hurricane coming that nobody told me about?  
"I don't know exactly, but if I see something down there I want to do, I get to do it," I demanded. My dad looked at me not liking that I was telling him what to do.

"We'll see about that," He said.

I became more serious. "No, it will happen. If you really want to spend time with me as a family the least you can do is devote some time to my interests. If you do things I want to do, then I will do some things that you guys want to do as well."

My dad looked at me knowing that I had got him. The look on his face grew more stressed as the rain began to come down in sheets. In the distance you could hear the storm sirens go off, but no one in the house moved from their current position.

"Okay, we will do some things that you want, as long as the same goes for us," My dad said as he began get up from his chair and leave the room.

"I'm not yet," I said still on the top step, sternly looking at my dad.

"Who do you think you are telling your parents what to do?" My dad said yelling as the lights flickered on and off through the house as the storm kicked it up another level.

"I think I'm Austin Moon, and I'm simply just making some requests to make sure I have fun on this FAMILY vacation." After saying that, I knew the one last request I needed to make.

The look on my dad's face expressed all of the anger he was holding in; there was no need for him to express it in words. With that, the electric in the house shut off and I was looking at my parents in the darkness.

"I want to bring my car on vacation," I said knowing that they would in fact be driving their own car since my mom has a fear of flying. The wind outside was howling causing the trees to sway to the rhythm of the storm.

"No," I heard my dad say softly as he lit a candle, "You are grounded from your car and you know that."

"Then unground me from it," I demanded realizing any progress I made with my dad before was now gone.

Then all of a sudden I could hear my mom whispering something to my dad, which seemed to calm him down. I could hear the wind dying down, the thunder occurring less often, and the rain now only coming down in a steady downpour.

"Fine," My dad said softly to the point where I couldn't make sure that I had heard what I just heard.

"What?"

"I said you could take the damn car. But, if you do anything, and I mean ANYTHING stupid while you are down there, I will take away your car, and there will be more consequences to follow." My dad said in a voice that struck fear into my heart. The storm gave one last burst of energy before dying down for the night, moving on to punish somewhere else.

I thanked both my parents, and went up to my room realizing that the electric might not come on for at least a couple of hours. It was late enough and I decided to retire for the night, hoping that tomorrow would bring the fresh start to a new day, and a new city; Gatlinburg.


	6. An Unexpected Path

**Austin's POV**

After making sure to ask that it was okay with my parents this time, I headed up to Gatlinburg earlier than they planned to leave. Before I left, they told me that they would be there no later than noon time tomorrow. This of course was possible as I once again was able to drive my car. I wanted just a little time to relax before my parents got there, and after what happened with my dad the night before, he didn't object.

It had been about a 13 hour drive and by the time I had arrived near the city and was driving through Pigeon Forge, nighttime had begun to fall. While I was driving through the city, what I saw was amazing; race tracks, arcades, shopping centers, and even an indoor sky-diving center. I guess I was still a kid at heart, no matter how much I tried to fight it off. I sure hope that Ally at least likes some of this stuff.

Soon enough I was nearing the outskirts of Pigeon Forge and was driving on the winding road into the forest that led to Gatlinburg.

**Ally's POV**

After making sure that all was well at Sonic Boom, my family and I went to the airport and boarded our non-stop flight from St Paul to Knoxville. The flight was a little over 4 hours long, but it was well worth it. The flight attendants were so nice, and they even had pickles on the plane! I mean that's pretty awesome.

Once arriving in Knoxville, we were shuttled to the rental car place to pick up our car. The car was a roomy SUV that had a nice light blue color to it. We grabbed the luggage and quickly shoved it into the car, and before I knew it, we were off to what has over time become my favorite place in the world.

Since my dad was driving the car, he decided to take the scenic route. Seeing the gorgeous Great Smoky Mountains only reminded me of all the hiking and nature seeing that I wanted to do. Unfortunately for me, it also reminded me of the fact that Trish was not going to be here this year. Hopefully Austin wouldn't mind filling in for Trish's role of doing all of this stuff with me.

**Austin's POV**

They always say you never realize how much you miss a place until you are there, and that is definitely happening to me right now. I'm driving down Parkway right know and I am in awe. All of the neon lights lit up the night sky while you could just make out the shape of the Smoky Mountains in the distance.

Looking at all of the different things that the city had to offer made me realize that I never should have been forced to come down here in the first place. It makes me wonder how much my childhood would be different if my relationship with my parents wasn't strained. Looking at the main strip of action running through the middle of the city has made me realize how much fun I could really have.

Even though the streets were packed tight with cars, it didn't seem to take very long for me to get to the rural back roads. Before I knew it, it seemed like there was nobody but me on the road. I navigated around the tight, curve filled roads that led up the mountains and arrived at the cabin.

At first I thought that I had the wrong address, because there was no way that this was where I was going to be staying for the next two weeks. This place was huge! This wasn't a cabin; it was more like a chalet. Surprisingly enough, after a crappy day yesterday, this day kept getting better and better.

**Ally's POV**

I was surprised that we were able to get here by ten in the evening. Usually we get here extremely late. For example, the last time I came down here in the summer we didn't get to the cabin until almost 3 in the morning. As much as I love my parents, they never seem to be on time to anything besides work.

Although it may seem like a big deal that we get here so late, we always get down here a night earlier than everyone else does so we can take care of the paperwork. I guess since my dad owns a business this isn't as big of a deal to him to handle all of the preliminary stuff as it to all the other people. So while we aren't getting settled into the cabin until the middle of the night, we are never disturbing anyone.

I like people a lot, don't get me wrong, but it is nice to have a night to myself so I can get recharged and ready for the two weeks ahead of me. Everything is going so well it seems like nothing can go wrong.

**Austin's POV**

I parked my car to the side of the cabin and slid out of the driver's seat of the car like a little child. The chalet was huge! From the outside it looks like the place was at least three stories tall and had at least two dozen rooms. Also near the patio, I could see a hot tub that had to be as large as a king sized bed. This vacation was going to be sweet.

I ran to the front door, wanting to be able to see the inside of the chalet. However, when I tried to open the front door, I ran into one major problem; it wouldn't open.

_This can't be right, the door has to be jammed or something._ I thought to myself.

I carefully looked at the sign that was at the front door and it read _Yellow Wood Suite. _I looked down to the paper that I had printed out from the computer and sure enough it said that our Cabin was the Yellow Wood Suite.

I tried to open the door again and of course I had no luck. I looked through the windows, and it appeared that the whole cabin was pitch black inside. Then the reality of the situation hit me; nobody was here yet.Leave it to my parents to not let me know that nobody was going to be here yet. I mean this just seems like something that my parents would just happen to forget to tell me.

Due to this current predicament I am in, my mood is quickly worsening. What turned out to be such a great start to the day has turned back into the crappy week that I have been having. I mean who knew how long it was going to be until my parents, or anyone else, arrived? Knowing that I couldn't do much to help the current situation, I walked back to the car in frustration.

**Ally's POV**

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we were headed to the cabin. Without realizing it, I must have dozed off in the car for about an hour or so because when I opened my eyes, I saw my parents in the administration building filling out the paperwork, and grabbing the keys for everyone. As soon as I realized what was going on, my parents were back in the car and we were off to the chalet.

**Austin's POV**

Okay this is kind of ridiculous. It has been over an hour and there has been no sign of anyone coming near here. I can't take it anymore, there has to be a way to get into the cabin. I turned off the music that was blasting through my car and into the surrounding air around me and got out. I slowly walked around the cabin trying to figure out how to get inside.

_ If I was trying to break into a house without being noticed, how would I do it? Let's see, front door? No, of course not you dumbass! Come on think Austin! Chimney? NO, how the hell would I fit through I chimney. _

I can't quite seem to think of anything useful no matter what. Wow, that doesn't remind me of some recent event that just happened.

_Come on, think!_ I really need to come up with a good idea here. Just then I caught something out of the corner of my eye. _That's it! The window!_

By a stroke of good luck, I noticed that there was a large open window about eight feet off the ground. I sneakily ran over to the window even though nobody had to be within a mile of this place. I looked up at the window, and noticed that there is a about a foot long ledge right below it. Great, with my conditioning from basketball, I should be able to pull reach up, grab the ledge, pull myself up, balance my feet on it, and get inside.

I prepare myself for the risk that I was about to take, and put my plan into action. So far I was doing great. With my strength I was able to easily pull myself up on to the ledge. All I need to do is open the window just a little bit more so I can fit through and go into the house.

Just as I was about to pull open the window the rest of the way, something bright shone in my face and made me lose my concentration. I turned around to see what it was, but that was not another one of my best decisions I have made today. While turning around, I lost my footing on the ledge, and made a violent fall toward the hard gravel surface.

"Man, I wonder what the bright light was." I mumbled to myself. My question was quickly answered as I slowly turned my head. To my amazement, there was a car here now, and it still had its brights on.

I slowly got up, realizing that I was now bleeding on my right elbow and knee, and winced in pain. As I got myself in an upright position, the car turned its headlights off, and the engine came to a stop. Oh boy am I going to have a lot to explain. I heard a car door slam, and I quickly walked over to the car ready to defend my actions.

"Listen I can explain," I said to the person walking out of the car.

"Who are you?" The voice asked me. I can now tell that the voice belongs to a teenage girl.

"I'm Austin Moon, and you?"

"Oh you're Austin," She responded sounding like she unfortunately expected to meet me, "I'm Ally Dawson".

She gave me a stern look, and from that, I can tell that we are not off to a good start.

**Oh snap! Looks like Ally's plan to try and help Austin got off to a horrific start! Does she know what she's getting into? Please Review! **


	7. A Careless Path

**Ally's POV**

Well I guess I don't get that night to relax after all. As my parents and I pulled up to the cabin that we have been staying at for the past couple of summers, we found an interesting sight. We saw that some teenager with dirty blond hair was trying to get into the cabin through an open window that was pretty high up.

When my dad shined his headlights at him, he turned around, lost his balance, and took an unkind fall to the ground. My dad and I got out of the car, thinking that he was going to run away, but instead I could see that he came to the van ready to defend his attempt to break into our cabin. We were both walking towards each other.

"Listen, I can explain," he said not really looking at either my dad or I. I guess he couldn't see us yet, but I could see him. Instead of waiting for him to continue I spoke out.

"Who are you?" I said loudly to make sure that he could hear me because I was very upset. First Trish not being here, and then this? I had no time to listen to his lengthy explanation.

"I'm Austin Moon, and you?" He replied acting like he had done nothing wrong. I mean who does this Austin Moon think he- uh oh. Did he say Austin Moon? I replayed the past 10 seconds in my head, and sure enough he did. I guess Trish was right, he is nothing but trouble.

I gave him an unpleasant look, and walked back to the car and got back in frustrated.

**Austin's POV**

After giving me the death stare, I saw ally walk away and get back into the car visibly upset. Great, this day just keeps getting better and better by the second. After this negative thought, I saw a man walking towards me, probably Ally's dad.

"So your Mike and Mimi's son?" He asked surprisingly not upset.

"Yes sir," I said wanting to make sure not to make him upset.

"I'm Ally's dad," he said with a smile, "But you can call me Lester".

"Okay, and look, I'm really sorry about trying to break into where we are going to be staying for the next couple of weeks, but I just-"

"Austin you're fine! We all make mistakes, and do stuff we aren't proud of, but it's okay! Just next time if you get locked out, just go to the main office about a mile down the road near the entrance, they can help you there," Lester said not mad at me at all. Wow, why can't my dad be more like this?

"I can't believe I didn't think of that! I'll make sure to do that next time," I told Lester. In all honesty I can't believe I didn't think of that. I guess sometimes I'm not as smart as I think I am.

"So do you want to go take a look inside the cabin?" Lester kindly asked me. I accepted his offer and was very happy that Lester didn't have any hard feelings towards me at all. However taking one look at Ally reminded me that not everybody was happy with me at the moment.

Lester and I walked towards the cabin with Ally and her mom right behind us. Lester unlocked the door and opened it. As I walked inside, I couldn't believe my eyes; this place was beyond my wildest imagination. Right in the middle of the room that you walk in, there was an awesome waterfall where the water moved down the light brown rocks.

Acting as a little kid, I moved from room to room looking at all the amazing stuff on the first floor of the chalet. It amazed me what there was to do. If I had knew that all of this was here, I would have started coming here again, no matter how annoying my parents are.

"If you think this is amazing, just wait until you see the downstairs," Lester said seeing that I was in awe with the first floor.

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go!" I said sounding like child. I never act like this, but for some reason I am. I guess it's because I don't have to pretend or try to please anyone with my appearance. Is this who I really am when I'm not around the populars or trying to make my dad at least somewhat happy? I mean it seems like I'm either with the populars or with my dad. The only time I can think of when I'm not around both of them is when I'm with Dez. Is this how I am around him?

I put all of those questions in the back of my mind really excited to see what the basement had to offer.

**Ally's POV**

I burn a hole in the back of Austin's head as him and my dad go downstairs to the basement. I mean the basement is by far the best part about the cabin, but I don't get why my dad all of a sudden is so buddy-buddy with Austin. I mean he was trying to break into the cabin; wouldn't you want to punish someone that is trying to do that? I mean I get that he is staying with us, but still, you think he would be smarter than that.

Honestly, I don't know why I was even mad at him. Technically, he was just trying to get into the place that he and his family paid to stay in. It's just I guess he seemed so careless, and I can't stand people that are careless and don't use their common sense.

"Ally, do you know what this red stuff is on the ground?" My mom yelled to me from the kitchen.

Red stuff, on the ground, it couldn't be. I walked over to the kitchen from the main living room and my suspicions were confirmed. It was Austin's blood all over the floor. I could see that his arm was banged up and bloody from the fall that he took, but seriously he couldn't clean it off or at least cover it up with something. Yep, that's why I'm mad at him, because he's careless.

"Umm, no mom, I don't know exactly what it is," lying to her. For some reason I don't feel like telling the truth would do any good here, and I always tell the truth.

"Well I clean it up, and tomorrow I going to call the front office and tell them about this. There is no reason the floor should not be cleaned," she said.

"That's okay mom, I can clean it up, it's no big deal," I told her. I didn't want her cleaning the blood without her knowing what it was. So I volunteered to clean the floor telling her, lying to her again telling her it was not a big deal.

I grabbed the sponge out of the kitchen closet, and filled a bucket up with hot, soapy water. I then got down on my knees and got down to business. There is no reason that I should have to be cleaning up a stranger's blood. Shouldn't I just have Austin clean up his own mess? It would sure make him be less careless. I guess though that this is the right thing to do, the nicest thing to do.

My thoughts quickly came over me, and before I knew it I had cleaned up the trail of red in the kitchen. Luckily for me, his wound must have scabbed up in time to not have trailed any blood into the carpeted part of the house.

I figured the best thing to do after cleaning up something like that was to go upstairs where most of the bedrooms and bathrooms are located and take a shower. Since nobody was here yet, I could use the large bathroom to take my shower and maybe relax for a little bit.

My shower was nice, allowing the warm water to wash away the disappointment that I have had the past couple of days. After I got out, I put my pajamas on and went to the room that I had stayed in a couple of summers ago. I hopped on the bed ready to read some of the book that I had started on the plane ride here.

I grabbed the book out of my bag, and got comfortable on the bed. Just as I was ready to begin something unexpected happened as Austin barged into the room. He started to stare at me and my lounge pants with pink dinosaurs on them, I know that they look childish, but they are really comfy! As Austin continued to look at me, I decided to speak up.

"May I help you?" I asked being very formal with him.

"Uh, yeah your dad said that I had to first room on the right side of the hallway," He told me with a dazed look on his face.

"Um, I think he might not remember that this is where I usually stay when I'm here," I told Austin while he was still looking down at my pink dinosaur pants and upper body, not at my face, "You know my eyes are up here," I said kind of harshly."

"Oh, sorry!" He said like he had been snapped out of some sort of daydream that I probably don't want to know anything about. He walked toward the other side of the room, and leaned his body up against the wall. Now he started looking at me with full knowledge that he was doing it this time.

"Do you have a problem?" I yelled at him.

He put his hands up, and a small sarcastic grin appeared on his face, "Nope I have no problem at all".

"Then why do you keep looking at me that way?" I questioned

"Come on Ally! Have you seriously never had a guy look at you before," he said not moving a muscle. Maybe I haven't had a guy look at me like that, but I knew he was doing it just to get under my skin.

"Seriously, grow up Austin!" I replied back mad at the game he was playing. This was not what I needed at the moment.

"Whoa, calm down, no need to get all defensive," He said fueling my anger.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Are you the one that had to clean up your blood on the kitchen floor? I don't think so. Seriously Austin, you couldn't get a Band-Aid to put on your cuts. Then I had to go take a shower to make sure that none of the HIV or AIDS in your blood got into me". That's where I crossed the line.

"You think I have some sort of STD? Wow, I don't know what you have heard about me from other people, but I haven't done that yet, especially with some sort of slut. I may be a popular kid, I might act like a jerk sometimes, I might have gotten drunk at some stupid party, I might not be very nice to my parents, but there is NO way in Hell that I would have done that to some poor girl. And you said that I'm the one that needs to grow up. I think it might be the other way around".

With that he slammed my bedroom door shut, and you could hear his footsteps stomp to another bedroom.

I may have been mean to him, but I don't think what I did was completely unjustified. I mean after all in the past hour he tried to break into the cabin, bled out on the kitchen floor, which I had to clean up, and looked at me with what I thought pervish intentions. Through all that though, maybe he was just trying to ease the tensions, and he thought that was the best way to do it.

All of a sudden, I felt bad for what I said. I decided that even though we were both in the wrong, I needed to be the mature one and apologize for what I had said. It was the right thing to do, and I always try to do the right thing.


End file.
